11/30/2011. Remarks by Johan Visschedijk: "A number of years ago it was usually accepted that the Avro Avian was made in Canada by the Ottawa Car Manufacturing Co, the only question was the number produced. In fact, no Avians were made in Canada. Some wooden components, the wings and tail surfaces, were manufactured by Ottawa Car; but completely assembled fuselages, ready for wings, came from Britain in most, and very probably all, cases.

The first Avians imported into Canada were Avro 594 Avian Mk.IIIs and Mk.IIIAs. Western Canada Airways of Winnipeg and Royden Foley of Hamilton introduced them to Canada and were awarded the agency for western and eastern Canada respectively in the spring or early summer of 1928. This arrangement terminated 'early in 1929' and Ottawa Car was granted the sales and manufacturing rights for all of Canada. By this time ten Avian Mk.IIIs and Mk.IIIAs had been imported.

In 1929 Ottawa Car supplied 21 Avians, ten to the RCAF and eleven to the DND (Department of National Defence) for distribution to the flying clubs. The first machine supplied by Ottawa Car, CF-CAR (c/n R3/CN/222), was first flown in Canada from Lindbergh Field, now Ottawa International Airport, on April 27, 1929, by Capt L. E. Maynard, Ottawa Flying Club's chief instructor. CF-CAR, and CF-CAQ which followed, were Avro 594 Avian Mk.IVs, and the only Avians with wooden fuselages sold by Ottawa Car.

All others had steel-tube fuselages and were originally designated Avro 594B Avian Mk.IVM which was later changed to Avro 616 Avian Mk.IVM. In Britain the Avian was made with a number of different engines but only three types were installed in the aircraft supplied by Ottawa Car. Thirty aircraft had the 100 hp Armstrong Siddeley Genet Major, 21 had the 80 hp Genet II and one had the 85 hp ADC Cirrus.

In 1930 nineteen more Avians were sold, seventeen to the RCAF and two to the DND for distribution to the flying clubs. One Avian was sold to a private individual in each of the years 1932 and 1933, the only Avians sold by Ottawa Car to private owners or companies. In 1935 eight were sold and in 1937 two, and all ten of these were bought by the DND for distribution to the flying clubs.

The final 10 Ottawa Car aircraft and their c/ns were CF-CEV to CF-CEZ (c/n 65259, 65252, 65254 to 65256), CF-CFA to CF-CFC (c/n 65257 to 65259), and CF-CFH, CF-CFI (c/n 65250 and 65251). A curious thing about the RCAF Avians is that almost no use was made of them. Most had very few hours, and some, still brand-new or virtually so, were relegated as instructional airframes and all were quickly passed to the flying clubs.

The Genet II Avians were underpowered, but the five-cylinder Genet Major machines performed well and put in good service with the flying clubs."